Fall is Here

Today is the day we have circled on our calenders all year long and that is the fall or autumnal equinox. This  day marks the end of summer where the length of night and the length of day are more or less equal. "We have an equinox twice a year – spring and fall – when the tilt of the Earth’s axis and Earth’s orbit around the sun combine in such a way that the axis is inclined neither away from nor toward the sun." (Deborah Byrd, Earth Sky - A clear voice for science 9/22/11) The most stressful time of the year for Granite Bay or any course with cool season turf is from the summer solstice to the fall equinox hence the circle on the calender and sense of relief.

What does this mean for the course? It means that the potential for drastic turf loss due to summer stress is moving behind us. It means that even those little areas of turf that have experienced thinning this year will soon start to recover. Even though this can be the most difficult time of the year to irrigate, the fall equinox means that our soft areas will soon start to firm up.

2011 Summer in Review

This has always been a good time of the year for me to review  summer success's along with setbacks and set goals for the future summers. The course is not in perfect shape as we conclude September, but for the most part not bad especially when compared to summers past. By any ones account the success's we experienced at during the 2011 summer are mostly attributed to the mild temperatures we experienced. The course's weather station only recorded 5 days over 100 degrees and most of these were separated by days if not weeks. There were no 100 degree days in August and only 2 in July. In comparison the courses weather station recorded only 8 days over 100 degrees in 2010, 15 days in 2009 and 13 days in 2008. The total of days over 100 degrees do not tell the whole story of the severity of a summer but can be a gauge we can all relate to, because when it's over a 100, it's hot.

#10 from the clubhouse roof. August 2011

Admittedly the mild summer temperatures was the secret to our success in 2011, however the plans we put in place to combat some of the substandard conditions we experienced last season did make a difference and should help  in future summer months moving forward. These included aggressive core aeration of all of the turfgrass surfaces, substantial irrigation enhancements particularly around the greens, a stepped up emphasis on hand watering and a different approach to disease and insect prevention. The dynamic, growing nature of turfgrass and its surrounding vegetation makes golf course maintenance a perpetual work in progress and it of course difficult to predict the future. We can however predict that next year there will be another summer and it most likely will get hot. So for now we embrace summers like 2011 and at the same time  continue to remain diligent in making  improvements  in preparation for the next one.

Green surround on #9 in August looking pretty good.
Now we just have to do something about that algae
in the pond.

Other accomplishments have been made in 2011 that set us up for future successes as well.  The completion of our sand trap renovation along with completing the resurfacing of our tees  will really free up resources and provide added focus on  more consistent putting surfaces and firmer end of season conditions. We will be discussing the details of how we plan to achieve these goals moving forward  but wanted to reiterate to our members that these goals have been and still remain a priority. We are  looking forward to spending  more time in these areas and  making a difference.

However 2011 is not over yet and we have plans for the remainder of the year. These plans include first and foremost more brush clearing. The  clearing and pruning will start shortly after course aeration in front of the rear tees on #14 and continue in what I call the 13,14,15 triangle. This is that large area of native vegetation bordering right of #13 & #14 and left of #16. Along with this area there is also some pruning work that needs to be done on the left of #13 & #14 as well. 



Fairway aeration process.

2011 Fall Aeration

On July 12th 2011, the Granite Bay Golf Committee unanimously approved additional alternating front nine / back nine closures beyond our normal alternating dates for putting surfaces to accommodate core aeration of the fairways and green surrounds. I mentioned the details of this request in the July 8th Granite Bay Course Update. As I mentioned in the update, my request was based on  the overriding principle that the cleanup of extracted cores during aeration must be allowed to dry for effective processing and the most productive and least obtrusive  way to achieve this is to allow for some additional F9 / B9 alternating closures. 

Hopefully the vast majority of the membership will see the upside to these additional alternating closures such as:                        

• Quicker Recovery. Rapid  and even recovery of  fairways and surrounds due to as an example, finishing all fairways in two days rather then stretching them out for close to two weeks.
• Better Job. Much more effective cleanup  due to being able to wait for the plugs to dry before the removal process. 
• Timely Completion. We potentially can finish core aeration of the entire property in 5 to 6 weeks as opposed to 9 to 12.
• No Complete Closure. The entire golf course will never need to be completely shut down.

In talking with Brad and Mitch, here is the schedule we plan on utilizing this coming October. Our plan is to try this schedule, evaluate the results, solicit Member feedback and then plan accordingly for future aeration cycles.

•  Week of October 3-7

Tuesday 10/4/11  Core aerate front nine greens. Traditional GB F9 closure
Wednesday 10/5/11 Core aerate back nine greens. Traditional GB B9 closure
Thursday 10/6/11 Core aerate front nine fairways. New F9 closure
Friday 10/7/11 Core aerate back nine fairways. New B9 closure

• Week of October 10-14

No alternate F9 / B9 closures for this week. We will however be aerating and overseeding tees and  the hybrid bermuda approaches on #14 & 16, working ahead of, during and around member play.

• Week of October 17-21

Tuesday 10/18/11 Core aerate front nine putting surface surrounds. New F9 closure
Wednesday 10/119/11 Core aerate back nine putting surface surrounds. New B9 closure 

• Weeks of October 24-28 & November 1-11 (3 weeks)

No further F9 / B9 closures planned. GCM will be working on core aerating all rough areas  ahead of, during, and around member play.


In conclusion we are adding 4 alternating closure dates to our aeration schedule but are hoping to complete the entire task more efficiently and cleanly in 5-6 weeks rather then 9-12.


Practice Area Progress

The newly renovated practice area is coming along nicely. The hybrid bermuda sprigs surrounding the green came in better then expected. Most areas are enjoying turf coverage of over 50% and the rest is coming on strong due to the aggressive stolons and rhizomes (creeping stems and roots) of the  hybrid bermuda. Its ability to cover bare ground is unsurpassed particularly with the warm weather we have been experiencing and it has been fun to watch the area transform so quickly. Soon we will overseed with perennial ryegrass  for winter color and after some grow in time we will be open for business. The only setback I currently see is the not as rapid establishment of bentgrass seed on the target green expansion.

Practice Area prior to renovation



Practice Area during construction 8/2011.



The expansion of the putting surface is definitely coming slower then the hybrid bermuda around it. Even though established bentgrass tends to be fairly aggressive in our summer climate, germinating bentgrass seed would prefer a little cooler weather. Our initial seeding was just over three weeks ago and we have applied a second seeding just recently which should germinate shortly especially with the upcoming weather changes.

Just prior to sprigging on 8/24/11



Hybrid bermuda filling in nicely 26 days
after sprigging on 9/19/11.



New Divot Mix

Some of you might have noticed a new divot mix starting to surface in the divot bottles and on the course. We built a large bunker in the maintenance yard to store sand during sand trap renovation.  Now that this renovation is complete, we can use this bunker to mix and store a divot mix for divot's and course repair rather then just straight sand. This 50/50 sand - compost blend will aid in the germination of seed  which is added to the mix along with providing a camouflaged appearance on the course as opposed to all of the white patches.  The current mix might have a little too much compost in it so we will continue to fool around with the recipe of our blend until we find just the right mix for Granite Bay.

Rolling out this new mix just happened to coincide with a recent "Sand-n-Seed" Outing hosted by the Granite Bay Golf Committee. The following is an excerpt from a re-cap of the outing provided by Craig Johns.

"The first installment of the "Sand-n-Seed" Outing was, from my perspective, a fantastic success.  Although the head-count was only 18½ people (my four year old, Jackson counting for the "half"), it seemed as if there were dozens of folks out, enthusiastically helping to improve the conditions of our golf course.  My personal goal for the evening was to get six holes of divots filled, the crew was able to finish the entire Front Side just as dark descended.  And while we didn’t fill in 100% of the divots on those nine holes, an unscientific assessment (after checking out the course this afternoon) is that we managed to get about 90% of them."

I was concerned / curious about how the group would view the new divot mix because it is a bit pungent but reports were that the group liked the appearance of the mix on the course as opposed the straight sand despite the bouquet. One consequence that I have noticed with the mix as opposed to straight sand is that if a divot is filled to high and not smoothed before it gets irrigated, when the mowers go over the wet mound of mix it leaves a streaking mark that is not the most attractive.  I think getting more sand in the mix will help with this situation along with smoothing out the mix. Our Thanks to everyone who volunteered. I look forward to being a part of the next outing.

 

Large mixing bunker with new divot mix.

Conclusion

Thank you for the kind words and support of our efforts in providing the membership a course you can be proud of. It is our hope and desire to build on the success's of this 2011 summer and create even better conditions for  future summers. This would not be possible without your support. Thanks again.

Short Game Practice Area Complete

Last week we put the finishing touches on the practice area by laying out 200 bushells of Tiffway II Hybrid Bermuda sprigs. This was the culmination of four weeks of work where we transformed the area by enlarging the target green and softening or flattening all usable areas around the green.

Short game practice area under construction.







Filling the old bunker so we can dig it out and make new ones.



Drainage pattern in the new shallow bunker.













Additionally we removed the left hand bunker when looking at the green and made two more usable bunkers, one shallow and one deep, out of the large bunker on the right. As I mentioned in a  earlier update, the vision for the changes to the area  are the result of Craig Johns countless hours of thought on how to make this area more usable. The goal was to make a functional area to practice as many representative Granite Bay short shots in the limited space we had to work with and I think the collaboration worked. Once opened, I believe the members who use the short game area will find it much more practical and hopefully the area will entice members who never used the area prior.


Excavating cavity for green expansion.













Adding gravel to the sub base of expanded cavity.











Graded 4" gravel layer in expanded green cavity.












Adding greensmix consisting of a 80/20 mix
of USGA sand & peat moss.

12" of greensmix.













The decision to get a base of hybrid bermuda established in the area was mine. I believe  the durability that hybrid bermuda provides particularly in the summer months will be a great advantage to the area. We will overseed it with ryegrass in the winter so it will always be green although hybrid bermuda is not like its grandfather common bermuda. It's much finer textured, does not go dormant as early as common and greens up much earlier. It is the grass that is on most of our tees and will be on all of them by the end of this golf season.

Construction busyness.



Sod ring defining greens edge.














Ready for sprigging.

The project is right on schedule if you recall the construction goals we set earlier in this blog. Week 5 was when we planned to sprig the area and seed the green and that is exactly when we did it. For the next 5 weeks we plan to push the grow-in of the hybrid bermuda and then overseed with ryegrass. Next we will let the ryegrass establish for another 4 weeks and then the area will hopefully be mature enough to open. If it is not mature enough, we'll let it mature a little more. Our initial 13 week construction goal's were to re-open in mid October and that is still the goal, however we will not jeopardize the work and investment that has gone into the area by opening too soon so we'll just have to see how it goes.

Scientifically installing the hybrid bermuda sprigs.



Rolling the sprigs to insure good soil contact.











Speaking of the Tees

Another goal that we have not really talked about much this year is the continuing resurfacing of our tees. This project hat was started over ten years ago will be completed in the coming months as we only have seven of tee surfaces left to do. We will be completing the tournament & club tee on #2 this week and will be working on the cobble / combo tee on #2 along with the pebble & nugget on #4 over the next couple of weeks.

Anyone that wants more details on the history and replacement of our tees  then what has been provided here can just go to the  archived  course update Granite Bay Tees.

leveling tournament tee surface #2



Installing hybrid bermuda on #2 club tee.









Putting Surface Progress

Our greens are progressing nicely due to the aggressive core aeration we started almost a year ago and plan to continue this coming  October. The turf is maintaining a root depth and the soil profile is void of the anaerobic black layer that sporadically developed last year and caused us problems. Our only issue has been with the sod we installed at the back and front left of #7 & #14. These areas started drying out much more rapidly then the rest of the green after the rain stopped this past spring. We determined that we made a miscalculation in amending the soil underneath the sod last year when we replaced it. The soil was too dry and hindered deep root development. This forced us to mow the areas with a different mower at a higher height of cut and spike and amend the soil profile by brushing in amendments from the surface to encourage proper rooting. It never has been or is our intention to reduce the size of these greens. We are actually starting to mow these areas down now and should have them at normal greens height in the next few weeks.


Perimeter turf on #14 green. Temporilarily mowing at a higher height of cut
has allowed turf to  properly establish and is now being gradually brought down
to the same height of cut as the rest of the green.

 We will be core aerating the surfaces aggressively again this fall albeit earlier in October so I do not anticipate any recovery issues. After this forthcoming aeration we will have removed over 30% of our greens surface area since last fall. This is definitely a recipe for success as I am sure will be confirmed by physical soil testing slated to be performed later in the year.

Drainage

These "Dog Days" of summer are the times that try greens keepers souls. Along with fighting dry spots it is not unusual to fight more wet spots at this time of the year then in the winter when it is raining. You might ask why? Its probably a combination of things from our unique cacophony of turf types, (at least for our area) to the heavy native decomposed granite soil beneath it. The weather has been fantastic for summer but it still is summer with its long days and higher then ideal temperatures for cool season turf. And I believe up until recently we have been able to avoid many of the overly dry and overly wet areas on the course by a stepped up hand watering and irrigation management regimen. But now we seem to have saturation in  some typical areas that  just need some drainage attention. We have a  area near the 100 yard marker on #12 and another about 175 yard out on the right of #4 that we have slated for some drainage work  in the coming weeks.

A pretty good synopsis describing the details of  Why We Get Wet in the Summer is a good reference specific to Granite Bay Golf Club for these "Dog Days". Its short, has a lot of pictures and explains some of the history of our turf.

Course Etiquette and Traffic Control

Filling divots and fixing ball marks fall into the realm of golf course etiquette that should be automatic to all of us who play golf. It is one of the first things that we teach our children learning to play even before the details of the golf swing. The Granite Bay golf committee and board of governors have and will continue to push initiatives to to change habits amongst all of us who play the course to take ownership by stepping up our efforts in ball mark repair and divot filling. My observation is that these efforts have helped and I hope will continue to improve.

If there was ever a time of year that these efforts would be more important it would be now. Our golf course will always be at its most stressed out point in August and September. Anything that we can do to further its inevitable upcoming recovery would improve and expedite good conditions this fall.



Unfourtunatly not an uncommon sight when tires of any vehicle
travel on stressed turf. Avoiding driving on brownish or grey in color
turf in the afternoons can really help minimize this ugliness.

Divots and ball marks are one thing but vehicle traffic, carts and maintenance equipment alike,  will cause more damage to the course then anything else I can think of. Please use the cart paths and walnut shells whenever possible and avoid obvious stressed out turf areas. These areas can be identified by brown or grey color to the turf particularly in the afternoon. It is a different golf course from morning to afternoon especially this time of year as we tone down the irrigation to keep from getting too soft.

Thank you for your support and efforts on this front.

Practice Area Progress

We are excited about the progress that has been made on the renovation of the short game practice area between the range and #7 green. As I mentioned in the last update, the project is the brainchild of our own Craig Johns, and he has been working closely with the Granite Bay Golf Course Maintenance Department with design specifics. It is obvious that Craig has given the area allot of thought , contemplating the different  short game shots that Granite Bay provides and trying to replicate them into the limited area we have. It is also apparent that he has been consulting with anyone in the membership that has opinions on the area making this a truly collaborative effort on all fronts.  

Granite Bay practice area prior to renovation

Its hard to see from this picture but the area below the

actual usable area below the green has been brought up

over 24"We estimate we have hauled in close to 200 yards of "old

bunker sand" to this area alone

We are trying to progress as quickly as possible not only to get the area back in play but also get some warm season turf established ( hybrid bermuda ) which will provide durability to the area which I believe is important. Hybrid bermuda sprigs are to be installed on Wednesday the 24th so we have only next week and a couple days of the following to wrap up. Below is a re-cap of progress prepared by Craig for the Granite Bay Golf Committee which details progress to date.

                       Granite Bay Golf Club

Short Game Practice Area Remodel Project

Golf Committee Update – August 8, 2011

                      Submitted by Craig Johns

 

(1) Removal of the three, scrawny blue oak saps previously located below and to the right (as one would look from the lowest topo point, away from the Club entrance road) of the chipping green;
(2) Cut and fill of the practice bunker area closest to #7 Green and substantial grading of entire left side of practice green area to create ‘softer’ slopes and enlarged area from which to practice downhill chip and pitch shots;
(3) Import and distribution of many hundreds of cubic yards of fill soil on and around the shallowest areas of the "fairway" and "rough" hitting areas, thus raising the overall level of the entire practice facility;
(4) Grading areas above the existing green to create ‘softer’ slopes and enlarged area from which to practice downhill chip and pitch shots;
(5) Grading of areas to the left and in front of the existing green in preparation for expansion of green overall;
(6) Cut and fill of practice bunker area to the right side of the existing green (closest to the Driving Range) in preparation for creation of two (2) new practice bunkers, both located on right side of green, and creation of large ‘median’ between two anticipated bunkers that will be seeded to fairway height to provide new variation of side hill chip and pitch shots.
There still remains much work to complete before the Remodel Project can be declared complete. Some of the major items remaining include:
(1) Final shaping and completion of the two new practice bunkers, including sub-drainage system similar to on-course bunkers;
(2) Bermuda seeding of entire practice area upon final grading of lower green and bunker surrounds;
(3) Installation of expanded irrigation system to accommodate expanded green complex
(4) Installation of higher protective nets along entire length of Short Game Practice Area.

Santiago shaping the area around the new bunker's
on the right hand side of the green. Upper bunker will
be a shallow bunker, the lower one will be a deep one.

Hauling in soil to shape the new bunkers.

Excavating the green cavity for expansion. A layer of gravel
will be placed in the bottom of this cavity followed by 
twelve inches of a 80/20 mix of sand and peat moss.

Jackson Johns doing a little shaping
with Santiago.

Summer Course Conditions

Course conditions have remained good through the summer so far. The weather has been very kind for cool season turf although it is still summer and it is a constant battle between too wet and too dry. I am particularly happy with our green surrounds this year as we have put allot of effort into those areas to combat the mediocrity we experienced in summer's past. Irrigation enhancements, different fertility regimen's, preventive applications for our chronic southern blight problems. e have grass is areas where there typically was very little in summers past and can look now at these important areas as a Granite Bay sucess story.

Putting surfaces are much healthier then last year. Improved root depth, overall lack of anaerobic black layer and dense stand of turf are all indicators of conditions that are improving. This improvement has allowed us to employ some strategies that can with diligence reduce our poa annua populations on our greens. This will hopefully create more  putting consistency, an area I believe needs to be improved upon.

Prepping a new on #5. Has since been re-surfaced
with hybrid bermuda stripped from the old
short game area.

Ten years ago we started replacing the bentgrass turf on our tees with  more durable, summer tolerant  hybrid bermuda. The practice area renovation had allot hybrid bermuda in and around it and during initial stages of renovation we we able to move this sod to some old bentgrass tees. All of the  tee surfaces on the west side of Linda Creek & Georges lake have now been replaced with hybrid bermuda and we hopefully will have the remaining tees finished by the end of summer. Tees left for resurfacing are #2 Tournament & Club, #4 Club & Pebble, #11 Club, #12 Tournament, #17 Tournament.

Conclusion

We went into 2011 with a plan prevent mediocrity on and around the greens, finish the renovation of the bunkers and finish the re-surfacing of the old bentgrass tees. Renovation of the practice area got thrown into the mix at some point but we are still tracking to meet  initial goals. There is still much to do in the way of tree pruning and brush clearing  starting in the triangle of native that skirts #13, #14 & #15. We have our sights set on more irrigation system enhancements of the same type we installed around greens throughout the course to improve  irrigation coverage. These enhancements have proven to create better environments for turf health and playability because soil moisture is easier to maintain at perfect levels rather then too wet or too dry. Additionally we hope to get some capitol funding approved for some cart path curbing around greens and tees which protect the turf in these areas and allow the elimination of cumbersome stakes , chains and those ugly traffic blocks. Even more importantly were hoping to get capitol for more practice area / driving range enhancements in 2012. More details on these improvements to come, but as you can see the plan is to continue to move the course and club forward. We couldn't do it without your support.  



Thank you.

On Course Bunkers Complete

In April of 2008 the Granite Bay Golf Club Maintenance Department embarked on a bunker renovation project which we can now say is complete, at least for the on course bunkers. The project was  originally slated for completion in 2010 however capitol funding was delayed in 2009 which effected the projects conclusion. We are ecstatic to have this project behind us as it has been taxing at times to keep up with normal golf course maintenance tasks along with keeping up with our construction goals. We still have many plans to continue moving the property forward from  the pruning and  brush clearing  work we have already started to installing cart path curbing, tee re-surfacing and continued irrigation system enhancements. However the job of renovating 67 bunkers with over 2 acres of surface area is larger in scope then any other golf course project on the horizon and I am sure everyone is glad that we are finished. 



The last completed fairway bunker on #9.





The "old" Granite Bay Bunkers were only 14 years old when we started the renovation process but had aged more rapidly then most due to some bad luck early in the life of the club. Granite Bay opened all 18 holes for play in December of 1994 which was directly proceeded by the 1995 La Nina storms which produced rainfall events of up to 5" in 24 hours. These storms washed the sand off the faces of the brand new bunkers and proceeded to erode the decomposed granite (DG) faces. This action moved native soil material onto the washed out sand in the bottom of the bunker mixing it with the sand and contaminating it. Maintenance crews attempted to remove the obvious top layer of emulsified DG from the bunker sand after the storms subsided but the weather patterns were persistent in contaminating the sand further after every event. Every subsequent winter storm that has washed out the bunkers since 1994  added to this contamination, producing bunker sand with very low percolation rates and a drainage system that was rendered ineffective from silt and fine sand and clay.



Winter storm November 2007 below #14 green




 



Familiar sight in the winter prior to renovation. #15 greenside
bunker November 2007.

 Our renovation goals were to prevent this type of contamination from happening again.  We settled on a somewhat unorthodox drainage system that we believed would rapidly move water out of the bunker during a rain or deep irrigation event. The thought was the quicker we could get the water out of the bunker the less chance for exposure of the native soil leading to washouts and contamination because the sand above would not load up with water and stay put. We did spray a liner to prevent erosion in the inevitable event of some washout but our overriding concept to prevent native soil contamination of the sand was to provide an avenue to get the water out of the bunker quickly. We also felt that if we could prevent this type of contamination that this drainage system would remain functional for a much longer period of time then a traditional 4" perforated drainage pipe. There are bunkers in the eastern part of the country with much higher average rainfall amounts then ours, with the same type of drainage system we used here at Granite Bay that 10 years later drain the same as they did when first installed. That's what we were and are looking for at Granite Bay and what I believe could set our bunkers apart in the future.

Recent view of the drainage system in the fairway bunker
on #9



Drainage chambers used in our drainage system.

Notice the amount of light or the size of the drainage slits.
When coupled together and wrapped in a geotextile fabric

and surrounded by sand, this voluminous subsurface system

almost sucks the water out of the trap.



Traditional 4" drain pipe. Historically slows down
and becomes almost ineffective over time.

We realize that just because we have completed renovation and have replaced the drainage system and sand that our work is not done with these bunkers. Bunkers in general require allot of maintenance, particularly for a part of the course that is deemed a hazard. The almost constant moving of sand from the trap to the surrounding turf areas from players and maintenance equipment causes a structural change to these areas that requires diligent attention. Hand or mechanical raking, monitoring proper sand depths on faces versus bases, trimming, sod replacement, irrigation enhancements are a few of the necessary tasks to maintain the  original vision of our bunkers and facilitate a fair test of golf. We already know just from last winters storms that with the new sand, drainage system and a bunker liner in place these traps don't hold water nor contaminate the new sand. This should result in our ability  to devote the same amount of time to these bunkers as in years past yet achieve better results.  

No Rest For The Weary
Practice Area Renovation Project Begins Monday July 25th

We plan to start working on the short game area  starting next week. The end result is something I know many of you have been looking forward to for quite some time. My goal is to chronicle weekly or at least biweekly progress of this project via this course update. The push for starting and completing this project right now is twofold. First to provide durability I think the area should  have at least a contingent of warm season turf in the way of hybrid bermuda and we are running out of time to get it propagated for this season. Secondly many of the member's who use the area are looking forward to a functional area to practice.

Creating this functional area is a bit of a challenge as we are limited by it's overall size. That being said the scope of work includes removal of the scraggly oak below the green and pruning two of the trees at the back of the area hopefully achieving at least a little expansion to the size of the  area. Next we want to fill the entire lower area to create  a more usable grade when chipping to the green. Additionally we plan to slightly expand the size of the green, remove the left hand bunker and make two bunkers out of the one bunker on the right. The project is the brainchild of our own Craig Johns who will be intricately involved in the "ongoing" design process.

Current view from below the short game area.
Scrub Oak to be removed and fill to be brought in
to soften / flatten the lies in front of the green.

The following is an outline of construction goals and timing.

Week 1.       7/25 - 7/29  Tree trimming and removal. Identification and protection of irrigation heads.  Removal  of sod and transferring usable sod to #6 & #8 tees. Hauling of additional sand as fill. Start shaping of approach and surrounds.

Week 2-4.     8/1 - 8/19  Continued shaping of the area, expansion of the green, expansion of the irrigation system, re-shaping of the left hand bunker(s). (3 weeks)

Week 5.         8/22 - 8/26  New sod around green and new bunkers. Install hybrid bermuda sprigs.

Week 6-9.      8/29 - 9/23  Grow in the warm season hybrid bermuda sprigs. (4 to 5 weeks)

Week 10.        9/26 - 9/30  Overseed with bluegrass & ryegrass.

Week 11-12.  10/3 - 10/14  Grow in  cool season bluegrass & ryegrass. (3 to 4 weeks)

Week 13.        10/10    Tentative Re-open



Rough concept of what we want to do to the short game area



I do not anticipate being able to re-open the area sooner then early October, if anything I could seeing us re-opening later then the October 10th goal. We'll just have to see how it goes.





Summer Update

It has been far too long since we have done a course update and  have allot of things to cover. We have been contributing daily golf course maintenance information to the very well received daily e-mail communication that is generated from the proshop. However that communication piece is void of many of the details that many members have told me they appreciate. So I'll make a attempt at brevity and cover some things that have been happening since spring.

Weather

Weather is by far the story of 2011. An extremely wet winter led into one of the wettest Springs I can recall in our area. Many members asked did all of this rain and cool weather help or hurt the course? Granite Bay always thrives in cooler weather and conversely struggles in hot weather. The rainfall amounts filling reservoirs at least puts the drought talk at bay for this year so for this course, the weather helped. Financially other areas of the Club struggle when it rains and our daily fee sister courses have a hard time recovering from this kind of a spring but anytime we at Granite Bay  don't have to turn the sprinklers on we are thankful. We even received a cool weather system in late June that produced a half a inch of rain which was extremely helpful.

Afternoon storm in May 2011

We have received a couple of mini heat waves so far, one in June and another in July. Both of these heatwaves were proceeded by a substantial cool down and thus far we have kept turfgrass losses to a minimum. All of the irrigation work we have been doing has helped substantially along with increased efforts in automatic system adjustments and hand watering with hoses. So far so good, but there is still a ways to go.

Recent handwatering on #4 green

Aeration

All of the playing surfaces at Granite Bay have one thing in common and that is a thatch layer that has become excessive over the years. As a recap thatch is the spongy layer of accumulated organic matter directly below the surface of the turf. Some is necessary, excessive amounts can be detrimental to playing conditions and turf health. Core aeration is one way to keep up with thatch production and aggressive core aeration can help move the situation to desirable levels.

Springtime core aeration of the fairways

Naturally there are down sides to the actual process of core aeration which include temporary surface disruption which can actually be hindered by how we do the job. Let me explain.  First the overriding principle of the cleanup process during core aeration is that the extracted cores must be allowed to dry before we can effectively remove them from the turf surface. This is not an issue with putting surfaces because Granite Bay has traditionally closed alternating nines to accommodate putting surface aeration and removal of cores from the putting surfaces requires a different process altogether. Our issue lies in the aeration of the fairways and green surrounds. We have traditionally not alternated closing of front nine and back nine when we have aerated these areas. This has necessitated our rushing to remove the cores while they were still to wet to properly process in an attempt to stay ahead of players. This has resulted in both a substandard job and the inability to complete the process in a timely manner. Rushing to complete  a given area causes us to smash wet cores into the turf surface further complicating recovery and  turf aesthetics. Additionally it takes over 60 days to core aerate the entire golf course providing we have good weather so when done twice a year in the spring and fall we can approach up to  half of the year to complete the two entire process.

Smashed core's the  result of  processing and removing them  before they properly dried.

After discussing this situation with Mitch and Brad along with some members of the golf committee, the golf course maintenance department garnered support for some more alternating front and back nine closures to accommodate these processes. The results will be our ability to finish the entire process at least for greens, green surrounds & fairways much more rapidly and even more importantly in my mind produce results that will look better and recover quicker.

 Because we need dry weather, these alternating closures will have to be somewhat fluid. We will target Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays and of course take advantage of Mondays where there are no golf course events sold. Obviously we will be working near putting surface aeration dates which club events typically steer clear of anyway so hopefully this will work out well for all of us. We will communicate specifics via morning updates, newsletters and this course update. Hopefully everyone can see the advantage of a few more alternating closures so we can get this necessary chore done in a timely and proper fashion.

Putting Surface Progress

The aggressive core aeration that we started last October to our putting surfaces has already begun to yield results. Root depth on our greens has increased and the anaerobic black layer conditions have improved as well. In review we started a much more aggressive core aeration regimen to our putting surfaces last fall then had been utilized in the past reacting to substandard conditions last summer. These conditions were the result of excessive organic matter accumulation. The aggressive process doubled the amount of surface area affected during core aeration, increasing from 5% per aeration event to 10% per aeration event. The perceived downside was that recovery would be prolonged due to removing larger cores and removing more of them because of using a tighter pattern. I think we all noticed that that was not the case last October and this past April. We actually recovered as rapidly or maybe even at a slightly accelerated pace. Was this due to ideal weather both times or our creating a healthier root zone environment, logic would dictate a little of both.

Jogi agressively core aerating #4 green
in April.

Vertidrain deep tine aerifyer on putting surface.
Just one strategy applied weekly that is helping
our greens stay healthy.

Consistent putting quality week in and week out is still a work in progress with these greens.  The level of health has improved due to the changing of aeration strategies and has allowed us to get more aggressive with surface management techniques such as vertical mowing, topdressing and growth regulator applications. Additionally our rolling regimen has stepped up where we are rolling greens up to six times per week. That being said our varying degrees of poa / bent mix throughout the course's greens  still present some challenges for both putting quality and putting surface management.  Additional challenges, as you know, are produced by trees which restrict air movement and obstruct light particularily on #7, #13, #14 & #16. Pruning to these areas this past winter has helped but we still need to be diligent in keeping these trees pruned and some potential removals moving forward. The good news is that  the healthier the rootzone becomes, the more we can engage in technique's that can mitigate the adverse effects to putting that poa anuua can produce. Will we ever be able to completely eliminate it ? Probably not but we can reduce some of the negative effects it contributes to inconsistent putting quality.

Specific plant growth regulator effect on Poa Annua
substantially stressing the Poa while not effecting the Bentgrass.

Cart Traffic Control

We sure opened a can of worms last week when we attempted a trial run on restricting cart's to paths only in the afternoons when temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. Communicating  the roll out of this trial was admittedly less then ideal although naturally the intent was to protect course conditions. The action solicited much feedback from the membership some positive, much negative and all valid. I suppose one of the positive things that came out of the trial was the multitude of opinions that can aid in framing a solid policy moving forward. Let me state this up front that we currently do not have a formal policy for restricting cart traffic to paths during hot weather. Additionally this is not something that we concocted. Other local golf clubs have used similar restrictions and I am sure were met with the same reaction along with support that we are currently experiencing. Lets look at some facts.

1. Cart traffic is hard on turf especially in the summer months.
2. We typically do not have that many days over 100 degrees.
3. Most damage occurs in late afternoon when the vast majority of traffic on the course is done during extremely hot days.
4. Modest restrictions particularly during the summer months should result in improved turf conditions.
5. We will not please everyone with additional cart restrictions.

 First and foremost the  golf course maintenance department's purpose is to not only provide great conditions but to protect these conditions for our members. That being said we value each and every group of members concerns here at the club and sincerely attempt to accommodate all wishes. If possible it would be nice to come up with a policy that both protected the course and maintained our members benefits in using their course.

Perhaps like the Adopt a Green program, which has significantly reduced ball mark pressure on the putting surfaces we could start another member awareness  program called Cart Conduct. Using morning updates, course updates and newsletters we could constantly inform members of voluntarily using the cart paths whenever feasible, players paring up in carts, following a strict 90 degree back to the path not the rough line and above all educating members with pictures of stressed out afternoon turf and the damage carts do to it and their responsibility to avoid these areas. 

We will keep the above mentioned Cart Conduct concepts in front of the membership and hope it will have the same results as Adopt a Green. If not, we could adopt a  policy that would restrict carts to the paths after 3:00 PM on days that the forecasted temperature is to climb to 100 degrees and above. Handicap flags would still be available. I don't think the policy would need to be any more complicated then that. We would communicate  upcoming restrictions via the morning e-mail blast in addition to this course update and the printed newsletter.

Recent cart damage on stressed turf.

Until Next Time

My Original intention in getting these Course Updates out was to do them every two to three week's not months. The information we provide to the morning e-mail blasts doesn't really convey the details of what we have been doing and why. I didn't include all of the info I wanted to in this update because I didn't want to overload. Our next update, which we be in the next few weeks,  will cover  the long awaited completion of our bunker project and the renovation of the practice chipping area. Hopefully we'll be reporting about good golf course conditions as well. Thanks as always for your support.